Can money buy you happiness? Only if you spend it on others.

“Maybe the reason money doesn’t buy happiness is because we’re always spending it on ourselves.”

In this very inspiring TED Talk, Michael Norton shares scientific research on how money can indeed buy happiness, but only when you don’t spend it on yourself. In one experiment, he gave people money and asked them to spend it on others rather than buying something for themselves. The people who purchased say, a cup of coffee, for themselves didn’t report any greater happiness. But when people bought that same cup of coffee for someone else, they reported a greater sense of wellbeing.

Perhaps most interesting is the fact that Michael and his team have gone on to repeat their studies in third world countries like Uganda, still finding similar results. Watch the video below to learn more: